NORWICH — City officials on Saturday will formally dedicate the city's newly minted bell tower and courtyard in the hopes that it will draw tourists and spark civic engagement in the city.

After more than two years of planning and an unofficial christening last week, the Emancipation Proclamation Commemorative Committee and city leaders are set to dedicate their David Ruggles Freedom Courtyard in front of City Hall.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District, are among the dignitaries slated to attend the two-hour ceremony.

"I think this is going to be a permanent fixture that residents of the city will be very proud of, and kind of a focus for some civic events," City Historian and committee Chairman Dale Plummer said. "This has been a process that's garnered a lot of support from the public, and it's been very gratifying."

Plans for the $225,000 construction project — which included the casting of a 250-pound Freedom Bell at Howard T. Brown Park in the summer of 2011 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation — began nearly three years ago.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln as an executive order on Jan. 1, 1863, abolishing slavery in the Confederacy. Slavery did not become formally outlawed until the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865, however.

Norwich prided itself on siding with Lincoln's pronouncement to outlaw slavery in southern states. And on Jan. 1, 1863, then-Mayor James Lloyd Greene ordered cannons to be fired and bells rung to hail the proclamation becoming law. Greene personally paid for the gunpowder used.

Plummer said the formal dedication of the 17 ½-foot, 1,300-pound stainless steel structure that will permanently house the bell will be a bittersweet moment for those involved with the venture since its inception.

"We've been meeting for almost three years, mostly on a weekly basis, so its kind of like, 'What next?' " Plummer said.